


Five Times Alec Carried Magnus + One Time Magnus Carried Alec

by EternallySilverMagnusandAlec



Series: Bound- An Immortal Husbands AU [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alec Lightwood Has Feelings, Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood is hopelessly in love with Magnus Bane, Alec is a Bane, Assume All Alec Lightwoods are Autistic!Alec Lightwood's unless explicitly told otherwise, Autistic Alec Lightwood, Autistic Character By Autistic Author, BAMF Alec Lightwood, BAMF Magnus Bane, Briefly Mentioned Temporary Character Death, Bubble Bath, Canon-Typical Violence, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dancing, Domestic Fluff, Domestic Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Hurt Magnus Bane, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Ending, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt Magnus Bane, Hurt/Comfort, Immortal Alec Lightwood, Immortal Husbands, Immortal Magnus Bane, Implied/Referenced Sexual Content, It is now, M/M, Magnus Bane Being Gorgeous, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Magnus Bane Has Feelings, Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane's Cat Eyes, Magnus and Alec are very horny for each other and I could not contain them, Magnus thinks Ragnor is dead for a moment there but he's not, Mutual Hurt/Comfort, Protective Alec Lightwood, Protective Magnus Bane, Sleepy Cuddles, Soft Kisses, Softness, They Look After Each Other, alec lightwood is a disaster gay, if y'all think it's relevant from what's mentioned for the record they're both switches, is that a tag?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:02:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27140812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternallySilverMagnusandAlec/pseuds/EternallySilverMagnusandAlec
Summary: Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood's love was something pure and profound, something powerful enough they changed the whole damn world for how much they did adore one another. Alec had no qualms in showing his affection for Magnus, and this may have shown through in the (admittedly many) times he wound up carrying the High Warlock of Brooklyn in his arms.(Five times Alec carried Magnus and one time Magnus carried Alec. It's not that complicated.Featuring Chairman Meow, Alec Lightwood being a disaster in love with Magnus Bane- and Magnus being the same towards him, autistic Alec, Immortal Husbands, and a LOT of domestic fluff and hurt/comfort)
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Bound- An Immortal Husbands AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981186
Comments: 61
Kudos: 361
Collections: Autistic Alec Lightwood





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here! Wow. This has been a work in progress for _many_ months. Welcome to my first ever 5+1 fic! I'm pretty excited about this :D A huge thank you to all my friends in the Malec discord server for the constant support. An especially big thank you to Em for listening to me scream about this fic, and Aria and Val for getting exciting for this fic (and all you amazing others who have been excitedly waiting for this)
> 
> This chapter is set shortly after 2x10 and Malec's first "I love you's", but this whole fic will be set under the assumption that Malec's love life in Shadowhunters took place over three years. Magnus and Alec had been together for two years when Alec asked to move in and they'd been together 3 years when they were married.
> 
> In the beginning this one mentions Valentine's treatment of Downworlders, the deaths caused by the Soul Sword/the battle, and talks about the impact the Circle has had so tread carefully if that's a tricky subject for you

I.

It had only been a matter of time, to be frank. Magnus had been working for days. In the wake of Valentine’s defeat and capture, the High Warlocks had been communicating with each other practically nonstop. There were a great many loose ends to wrap up: warlocks were still missing and downworlders and shadowhunters alike were wounded and lost in the battle against him. Anyone Valentine imprisoned still had to be uncovered. Warlocks were toiling endlessly to try to find ways to combat the effects of the serums he’d injected downworlders with.

It was heavy work, and some that was both emotionally and physically draining. There were far deeper effects than the surface level ones many saw- behind the death toll and losses laid a deeper pain and terror, one that rooted in communities and tore apart lives in more ways than the physical. More than that, there were still uncovered bodies, uncovered horrors, Circle members that hadn’t been brought in. 

(The battle may appear to be over, but no one spoke of the war that had to be waged for healing in the wake of those wounds.)

Magnus hadn’t turned away from his work since he started… quite literally. His eyes had bags under them and his hair was messier than normal. He’d abandoned touching up his makeup with magic entirely in favor of pouring over ancient texts and scribbling ideas as frantically as he could. 

There were thousands of potential combinations of potions and treatments to be considered, options to be weighed, communication with an endless number of warlocks in the trying time. Clients and warlocks alike still reaching out to seek his aid. 

Magnus was running on adrenaline and sheer force of will. ...And living on coffee. _A lot_ of coffee. 

Whenever he came home, Alec had done his best to pull his boyfriend away from his work long enough for him to eat and sleep. The latter was a losing battle, but at the least, Alec had managed to get him to rest and at least eat something once a day. 

It wasn’t sustainable.

Nor was the amount of coffee he’d had to drink if Alec had anything to say about it.

> (“How much have you had?”
> 
> “I’ve had enough cups of coffee that in a human could trigger a seizure.”
> 
> “ ** _Magnus_**.”
> 
> “Alexander, love, I’m a _warlock_. I’m only half human.”
> 
> That particular conversation had wound up in Alec dragging Magnus to the couch to cuddle him into submission, and while he didn’t precisely sleep Alec did cuddle Magnus long enough he rested for a solid three hours.)

It had been more than a week of near-constant work, and four days since Magnus last slept at all. Alec had yet to get him to rest longer than three hours- that had been the longest stretch he’d managed to pull the High Warlock away from his studies in the four previous days. At this point, Alec would settle for getting him to eat a decent meal and finally _sleep._

Alec had dropped by with food, pressing kisses into Magnus's hair and doing his best to make sure the warlock at the very least ate a solid meal.

Magnus had a job, an _important_ job, one Alec _didn’t_ want to interfere with. But at this rate, he was burning himself out and fast. He continued looking more and more ragged and worn every time Alec saw him, and Alec… was terrified. He didn’t admit that lightly, but he was more than worried by now. Magnus couldn’t continue to work if he pushed himself to collapse and would wind up putting himself out of commission for far longer if he didn’t start looking after himself properly (and Alec may have been well aware it was hypocritical of him to think so, but at least he was _aware_ of that).

Alec pushed the door open to the loft, pausing in the doorway. It was a new experience to be allowed to come and go as he pleased, and it was even more strange when he wasn’t sure if or where Magnus was present. It was a new set of rules, a new place to inhabit, and Alec couldn’t help but feel like he was invading a place he had no rightful claim to. 

He wasn’t _used_ to being allowed entry to a place like this. It was a weird notion to consider he could come in when Magnus wasn’t home, that Magnus was willing to have him here. This was Magnus’s domain, and he had no claim to it. Ridding himself of his boots as quickly as he was able, Alec let a hand rake back through his hair.

Magnus often didn’t hear Alec’s initial entry when he was caught up in his work. That had been all the more common these past days- not noticing Alec’s arrival until he appeared in his office with food or trying to wheedle him out of the room for some fresh air.

It was quiet in the loft (uncomfortably so) and the lights were dim enough it was hard to make the room out without his runes activated, but Alec was a shadowhunter for a reason. He heard a faint meow below him and dropped his gaze. Chairman Meow stared up at him and meowed more insistently, rubbing against Alec’s leg and, wordlessly he reached down to scratch behind the cat’s ears. He nuzzled Alec for another moment before he scampered off and out of sight.

Apparently, his need for greeting pets was quenched.

Alec shook his head, but he couldn’t deny the smile on his features. Oddly fitting in a way that if anything was to get him more comfortable, it would be Magnus's beloved cat.

“Thanks, Chairman,” he murmured.

  


While he was never quite sure what to do when alone in the middle of the loft, the rooms he often had access to were a little easier. The door to Magnus's office was cracked ever so slightly, and after a moment’s hesitation with one hand he slowly pushed it open. “Magnus?”

His head tipped ever so slightly to one side. When the door opened all the way, it became apparent for yet another reason why no one had heard him come in.

There, sprawled out on top of his papers and books, Magnus was dead asleep. His hair tumbled into his eyes, pages ruffled by his quiet breathing. His eyes were softer around the edges and he looked more relaxed than he had been in days. Alec let out a breath as he crossed over, a fond smile stretching his features as he reached up to brush the hair out of Magnus’s eyes. The warlock hummed pleasantly and leaned into the touch even in sleep, and Alec grinned down at him.

“Hi, love,” he whispered to the sleeping man, heart stuttering in his chest. By the Angel, Magnus had been so _tired._

Magnus looked so peaceful like this. Younger without the makeup swept across his features and somehow painfully smaller in the vulnerability of such a simple moment. Magnus trusted him to see this. 

It was a heady feeling.

Alec couldn’t help but lean down to press a kiss to Magnus's forehead, but something twisted uncomfortably in his chest when he looked down at his boyfriend (Angels that word sent a thrill through him _every time_ ). Magnus's desk was far from the most comfortable place to sleep.

When Alec was younger, he used to carry his siblings off to bed when he found them dozing in strange places. An awkward, gangly Lightwood teen scooping up his parabatai, little sister, or youngest brother with little to no trouble before trotting back to tuck them into bed and shushing them when they stirred. It was tradition, then, to kiss their forehead for good luck every time he put them to bed. Even now, if he found Izzy and Jace out cold after a stressful mission at the Institute or curled in some strange position (on or beneath their desk, sprawled out near the training room) he didn’t hesitate to carry them back to their rooms. (There was one particular occasion where he hadn’t hesitated to take Clary Fray back to her room in the Institute, but Alec would much rather choke than let anyone know it had been him.) 

Magnus deserved to sleep in his own bed and rest comfortably, especially considering it was the first time in _days._

Alec hesitated. He wasn’t sure if it was his place to do so. Would he be allowed to carry Magnus, take him away from his office, and put him to sleep in his room? What if he woke Magnus up? The last thing he wanted to do was mess up the first peaceful sleep he’d had in days. Would Magnus be upset with Alec for moving him? 

Except-

Alec could _see_ the way Magnus would strain his neck laying like that: how uncomfortable that would make him when he woke. He’d probably be more than a little upset if he made a mess of any of his work.

...and Alec couldn’t bear to see Magnus in any pain, even if it was something as mundane as being sore from sleeping in an uncomfortable position. He wanted, needed to fix it, to soothe it, because Alec was _good at that._

Taking a breath, he pushed the chair back a few inches and tried to quell his own rising anxiety. Alec let his stele drift over a rune without thought: soundless, before wordlessly he pocketed it. He rested his hand on Magnus's shoulder, and, slowly, carefully, Alec slipped an arm under him and hefted the weight of the warlock into his arms.

Holding his breath, he shot a careful look down at the man cradled in his arms. Magnus made some indecipherable noises and turned his head to press into Alec’s chest, but he didn’t wake from being moved. 

Letting out a silent sigh of relief at that, Alec used all the stealth of a fully trained shadowhunter as he slipped out of Magnus’s office and towards the bedroom. Alec crept down the hall, steps light and noiseless, slowly adjusting to the weight in his arms. Carrying Magnus with all the care in the world, Alec held him close and kept his breathing steady. 

That, of course, was the moment when with a yowl a blur of movement streaked across the hall behind him and claws snagged on the back of his pants. Chairman Meow hissed a moment more before weaving around him like he was a liquid, rubbing insistently before firmly bunting his face on Alec’s leg.

Alec stayed silent for a terrifying moment, but at a chitter, he resisted the urge to twist to face the cat in frustration.

“Chairman,” Alec hissed in a low voice with a flare of annoyance. “Chairman, I know you love him but we need to let him _sleep_.”

The cat lifted his head and blinked up at Alec, looking as though he were contemplating the words for a moment before he went right back to pressing his face into Alec’s leg and nuzzling him.

Magnus stirred with a faint grumble and Alec froze, heart ramming in his throat in sheer terror. There was a beat where he thought Magnus was going to blink back at him and ask him what he thought he was doing, but in a matter of heart-stopping moments he settled and dozed off. Alec heaved a silent sigh of relief, resisting the urge to drop his head back under the weight of it.

That was the moment Chairman Meow decided he had tired of the interaction and with a little chirrup trotted away with his tail waving high above him. Rolling his eyes, Alec knew he was far fonder of the feline than he had any right to be, even when he was exasperating. The shadowhunter took soft steps as he headed towards the bedroom door and silently turned the handle.

Setting Magnus down into his bed was by far the most stressful part of the whole endeavor. Alec had never really been in the bedroom save for when Magnus had invited him in. It was odd enough to give him pause, breath caught in his throat as he watched the silent, unlit room. The sheets were drawn back with just enough room to tuck Magnus beneath them, but getting him into bed without waking him as the bed dipped under Alec’s weight sounded more than a little daunting. 

Alec padded to the side of the bed and gently leaned down to set Magnus in his bed, resting one knee on the mattress. Magnus slipped into bed quietly, barely stirring, and Alec slowly slipped his arm out from under him to let one hand run through his hair. Magnus didn’t wake up and demand what he was doing or quirk a brow before questioning him, and Alec felt a wave of relief so encompassing it was nearly blinding. His smile was soft as he pulled back to try to pull the sheets up over Magnus.

Instantly a hand latched onto him, gripping like a vise. Any tighter and Alec didn’t doubt it would have hurt. Magnus grumbled disapprovingly in his sleep and Alec blinked, baffled, before something that most definitely was not a giggle escaped him. 

Despite his fondness, there was a twist of something else in his gut. He didn’t want Magnus to wake up in the morning and suddenly find Alec there. What if Magnus didn’t want that? Would it scare him?

Carefully, he tried to remove the hand clutching desperately at his shirt to try and extract himself long enough to tuck Magnus into bed.

The warlock was not having it.

Wordlessly, he leaned up, limbs acting of their own accord as his arms latched around the shadowhunter and tried to tug him into bed. He sought Alec’s contact as though it was the only thing keeping him alive, pressing as close as possible and only settling when he could feel the warm presence of Alec against his skin.

Alec huffed, his lips curling up into a smile before he obligingly crawled into bed. Magnus cuddled closer, rubbing his face into Alec’s chest with a chirp that sounded all too like a pleased cat. 

There was never anything Alec could resist giving to Magnus. More than that, having the warlock like this, slumbering peacefully and curled against him and lighting warmth through his whole body, left him with a dizzying sensation of care for the warlock.

_Love._

He could call it that now, and by the Angel that was a wonder.

Silently, Alec pulled the sheets up over the two of them and pressed a kiss against Magnus's forehead, tangling their legs together beneath the sheets. His smile never dimmed. There were far worse ways to spend the evening, he decided as he watched Magnus with unadulterated fondness. 

(Besides, with Alec cuddled close in the morning Magnus would have another reason not to get out of bed until Alec felt like moving.)

In the morning, there would be time for discussions about self-care and addressing each other’s fears and drawing in the loving presence of one another. For now, wrapped around each other, this was all they really needed.

...

> “Did you really carry me to bed?” Magnus asked him in the morning, eyes twinkling as he stared at him.
> 
> Alec flushed.
> 
> “I- I wanted to make sure you slept well,” he stammered out, cheeks burning and heart pounding hard in his chest. Magnus's smile was achingly fond.
> 
> “With you, there’s no doubt,” he said softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Exhausted/overworked Magnus crashes on his desk, Alec carries him to bed
> 
> Thank you for reading! Sending virtual hugs to you all


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think there are any specific canonical time references here, but I imagine this is a bit further in their relationship. 
> 
> Magnus thinks Ragnor is dead at this point (he's not, which Magnus knows in one of the later chapters), and that's brought up. If you want to avoid that part just skip the paragraph that starts with: "Then there was the point where he broke a mug"

II.

The second time Alec carried him, Magnus was fully conscious and completely aware of it- and it was _entirely_ his fault, Alec would argue. He was the one who instigated the whole thing; though Magnus might protest that Alec was the one doing the carrying so the fault lay solely on him.

(It was definitely on Magnus, Alec would state with a grave degree of certainty to anyone who listened. He just might know well enough not to say it where Magnus could _hear_ him.)

It had been a long day. The worst part of it was that Magnus couldn’t even pinpoint why things felt wrong. He woke up and hadn’t even been able to delight in sleepy morning kisses with Alexander, soft smiles and lazy cuddles before he had to leave for the Institute. Instead, Alec had spent the night at the Institute for the third night in a row under the immense workload that came with swelling demon activity and Magnus woke alone. Alec had been spending more and more time at the warlock’s loft, and he hadn’t even noticed until it started bothering him when Alec wasn’t there.

It was just little things, a series of annoying inconveniences Magnus wouldn’t find otherwise altogether troubling on a normal. Somehow, all of them together, on one day felt like a thousand cuts pushing him closer and closer into disarray.

A client with unreasonable demands argued with him while he tried to work with them for over an hour before they shouted at him for a solid five minutes and decided to take their business elsewhere. Magnus didn’t even get paid for the consultation, and he cursed the fact that he hadn’t asked to be paid upfront.

That wasn’t his only problematic client of the day, and when searching for one of his most treasured lipsticks he found that not only was he out but that the company no longer produced that particular product. 

Then there was the point where he broke a mug, which shouldn’t have been altogether that large of a deal considering Magnus had magic, but the whole encounter reminded him of Ragnor. The way he’d ask why Magnus kept the godawful thing all these years later and that hurt far more than it had any right to. It wound up in him crying in his kitchen for several minutes before he pulled himself together and tried to fix his makeup with magic (which took more than one try because of those traitorous extra tears and Magnus was just _tired_ at that point).

He mixed up two basic potion ingredients when he didn’t look at the labels in the rush, and while it was easily fixable he couldn’t stop his growing frustration with himself. And, to top it all off, even Chairman scratched him when he went seeking affection.

There was no rhyme or reason why it felt like a bad day from the moment he got out of bed until now, but it did and Magnus _hated it._

Which was why Magnus decided by the end of the day when he curled up on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket and scowling something fierce he couldn’t help but yearn for the moment Alec would come home for the first time in days.

(Magnus may not notice that he thought of Alec in regards to home, to it being his as well, for several days afterward, and when he did, well… he may have had to physically stop in his tracks to sort over that for several minutes.)

So when he heard the knock on the door, the all too familiar rhythm, Magnus couldn’t help but perk up in the moment of hesitation before the doorknob turned and the door opened.

Alec strode in, stooping down to place his bow and quiver in the entryway. His eyes swung over the loft, for a moment looking all the part of a calculating predator, a soldier analyzing his surroundings. In moments like these, it was easy to remember that Alec was indeed a _nephilim_. There was a tension there beneath his shoulders, one Magnus found he could have difficulty shaking some days. It was a tangible presence, a physical weight present in the way his shadowhunter naturally slipped into a stance of standing in parade rest when trying to be more ‘casual’ and how clasped his hands behind his back tightly to physically restrain himself from moving “too much” (the notion being utter _nonsense_ in Magnus’s opinion).

It wasn’t hard to spot the moment Alec’s gaze found his boyfriend. It was an instant reaction, something softening from the hardened warrior who commanded troops to Alexander, cherished boyfriend and absolute adoring.

His demeanor changed in an instant- shoulders dropping and while he still carried himself with an air of quiet strength, utter adoration flitted his expression, ever-present in the gentle crinkle to his nose. He smiled something tentative and soft and delighted, and there was a near reverence in his voice when he said, “Magnus!” in way of greeting.

(It was… almost _aweing_ to see the shift that overtook him in an instant, revealing so easily the utter care Alec had for him in a way that left Magnus utterly breathless.)

Alec strode across to Magnus's side before hesitating, fingers clenching the most minuscule amount and tension entering his shoulders once more despite how clearly at ease he was now at the loft.

“How are you?” It sounded nothing less than rehearsed now that Magnus knew how to listen for it, rattling off his tongue as though it were a scripted response Alexander had spent years learning. Perhaps he had.

Magnus drew a breath. There was the instant urge to brush it off, wave his hand with a pinched smile. Alec, though, wouldn’t know to push. He would be lost, because Alec was perceptive and strong and intelligent, but there were some things that didn’t make sense to him (and he was no less for it, whatever his parents and the Clave may have led him to believe).

“I find myself rather in need of a pick-me-up,” Magnus lamented, idly gesturing with his hand with a hitch in his breath he’d rather ignore. He didn’t dare look toward Alec now for fear of what he’d find, the obvious confusion, concern written clear as day across Alec’s features.

It was better now that he was here.

“It’s,” he grimaced, offering an apologetic look. “Just been a very long day.” A particularly unpleasant one at that.

Before Magnus had time to contemplate his next thought, a steadying hand was placed on the back of his arm, snaking behind his back, and an arm slipped beneath his legs. “What-” Magnus started before the air dropped out of his lungs when Alec scooped him up bridal style and spun around with him in his arms.

Magnus would be loath to admit it, but his brain short-circuited for a moment, leaving him frozen in the wake of what had just happened. Alec had _picked him **up**_. Alec had lifted him in his arms and pressed their foreheads together before stealing a damn good kiss while staring at him like the warlock had hung the moon and stars.

Alec leaned closer in one fluid motion, resting his forehead on Magnus's before greeting him with a small kiss. It was brief, but left Magnus leaning up despite himself to try and grasp that pure emotion, the aching gentleness, for a fraction of a moment longer.

“Okay?” Alec asked, and Magnus could feel how concerned he was, saw the little quirk to his brow, and heard the uncertainty hiding in his voice.

Magnus grinned at him. “Perfect.”

He cleared his throat, mortified to realize he was _blushing_ like he hadn’t for centuries over a pretty boy who quite literally swept him off his feet. That would not do, Magnus was decadent, he was refined, he had centuries of experience-

And all of that seemed to jerk to a halt, useless in the face of one Alexander Gideon Lightwood.

Tongue-tied and face dark with heat, he scrambled for words. “You know, usually, Alexander, when someone says they’re in need of a pick-me-up they don’t mean it literally,” he tried to explain. It wouldn’t be the first time some thoughtless comment had escaped Alec’s grasp. He’d tried to describe it once, how it could be both easier and harder with people he knew. How when he was tired, even when he usually might be able to puzzle out if it was some odd turn of phrase or sarcasm that when he was worn it slipped from his grasp before he could realize it.

Magnus, though, felt his heart twist into something else when he caught the flicker of a sly grin and something downright mischievous in Alec’s hazel eyes.

He gasped far more theatrically than it quite needed to be. “You little sneak,” he dropped his head on Alec’s chest, fighting hard to scowl to keep the laughter from his face. “You cheeky, utterly _infuriating_ nephilim, you just had to be a secret romantic, did you? Well, I’ll have you know I’ll get you back for this. Tenfold.” He would. By Lillith, Magnus would find a thousand ways to shower his shadowhunter back in gifts. (Perhaps it shouldn’t be all too surprising, the weight of the omamori charm a constant presence in his pocket, the way Alec swept down from the altar to kiss him in one final dramatic gesture, that Alec was as hopelessly a romantic as Magnus wanted to be beyond centuries of painstakingly built walls that wanted nothing more than to crumble in the face of one persistent nephilim.) 

Alec laughed, something breathless and awe-inspiring to watch unfold. “I look forward to it,” he teased back. 

Magnus opened his mouth, more words threatening to bubble over, because Alec was clever and sneaky and damn if that wasn’t particularly… _enlightening_. He felt Alec nosing gently behind his neck, pressing feather-light kisses there and his words stuttered to a halt.

“Later,” he managed to gasp out. “Definitely later.”

And Magnus would definitely plan his sweet revenge of utterly wooing Alec Lightwood once his brain stopped malfunctioning due to one particularly determined pretty boy. (Alec’s attempts of distracting Magnus from his bad day worked. And when he held Magnus's hand that night and listened to him ramble, pressing a kiss to his collar, Magnus couldn’t help but soften at the sight of the man he loved willing to do anything to comfort him.)

Alec looked at him, shifting his grip, and Magnus reached up to wrap his arms around Alec’s neck. “How would you like it if I started a bath for you?” Alec asked softly.

“That sounds wonderful,” he murmured.

  


Despite Magnus's urge to use magic to handle just about anything, he couldn’t deny there was something soothing about hearing the steady stream of water in the background.

The water was warm, warm enough that it startled Magnus entirely out of his thoughts, and leaning back into it lifted what felt like years of tension from him. His head tipped back, heaving a relieved sigh and he heard Alec shuffle beside him. 

He cracked an eye open. “Bubbles?” He asked dubiously.

Alec shrugged, lips quirking slightly in a grin. “You like bubbles,” he said in way of explanation.

Magnus _did_ , but he hadn’t known Alec noticed. He enjoyed indulging in bath bombs and glitter and bubble baths to relax- they’d become a bit of a safe haven for him. He enjoyed slipping in to steaming water and relaxing back into it for as long as he desired. Magnus was of the opinion that if you were going to be around anyway, you might as well take part in indulging yourself while you could. If anyone was to judge you for the harmless things you did to bring you pockets of joy, then they weren’t with your time (though perhaps it wasn’t always that easy to believe so).

“I do,” he said thoughtfully after realizing he hadn’t spoken in a while.

“May I?” Alec asked, gesturing to the various products to the side of the tub. His lips were pressed in a firm line and his eyes held the same intensity they had when Alec strode down the aisle to kiss him for the first time.

Magnus couldn’t stop himself from nodding.

Alec was gentle. His hands had callouses from years of working with his bow, but Magnus couldn’t deny it did something to him to feel those hands, shaped by years of intensive training and battle, delicately working the shampoo into Magnus's hair. Alec touched him softly, as though he were something precious, to be treasured. The little touches never ceased, a hand gliding up his arm, lingering just below his cheek. For the longest period of time, he placed his hand on top of Magnus's and knit their fingers together, holding his hand with an ease that left him breathless.

If Alec was nervous, he didn’t show it.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” the words shook a little, and for the life of him, Magnus couldn’t keep some of the creeping insecurity from his voice. Alec hadn’t been home in three days, he probably hadn’t intended to return home to fuss over Magnus and get him cleaned up. If Magnus wasn’t such an emotional wreck, he could have been better for his boyfriend.

Alec, with his sharp noise of disagreement, didn’t seem to share that viewpoint.

“I want to,” he stated so matter-of-factly it felt as though the words struck Magnus as a physical blow to the chest. Alec continued his ministrations, gently rinsing Magnus’ hair and his words were achingly fond in a way that told Magnus exactly the way his expression would look, the softening around his eyes and crinkle to a smile that shone with pure adoration for Magnus. “I want to pamper you, and look after you, and make you happy.”

Magnus tilted his head to watch, cat eyes focused entirely on Alexander, as Alec slowly rubbed his hands together, spreading the shampoo before he looked up with a soft expression.

“Tip your head back,” Alec said and Magnus did so without hesitation, baring his throat and mark with an ease and trust so few had been given. 

Alec’s fingers were utterly heavenly- long, slender, and marked with all the grace of an archer. Magnus couldn’t stop the low groan as Alec gently massaged his scalp, gingerly running his fingers through strands of hair and quietly humming a tune Magnus couldn’t place. His head was buzzing and he let out a heavy breath.

The heavy scent of sandalwood mixed with Alec’s touches, gentle and lingering, the firm presence of him beside Magnus as he was overwhelming enough something painful caught in his throat.

It was quiet for several moments when they lost themselves in the warmth of each other, in the quiet motions of Alec washing his hair, letting his fingers trail along Magnus’s skin in a silent caress, a promise he wouldn’t leave his side. 

“Why are you here?” Magnus asked in a small voice. _Why do you want me?_ He ached with the question sometimes, not as often as he might have before but Alec, kind, brilliant, young Alec who loved so fiercely it outshone the sun, chose Magnus, who some days felt the weight of his age and centuries in his bones and worn by the endless march of time against him while his body remained, unchanging and eyes growing ever older, with the weight of unending experience.

Alec blinked at him slowly in confusion, the same way people did at him when they couldn’t figure how he didn’t understand something. He slipped his fingers through Magnus’s, dipping them into the water. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said with a certainty to his words, leaning to press a kiss just along Magnus's hairline.

Magnus felt his breath hitch. He closed his eyes and let out a breath as Alec buried his nose into the crook of Magnus's neck. Pressed on top of his boyfriend, Alec’s body was a heavy, steadying weight on top of Magnus that left him feeling grounded for the first time all day. He felt his lips tremble as he fought back a painfully wide smile.

“I love you,” Alec breathed simply, as though it were the most natural, easy confession in the world. “And I want to be here for you as long as I can.”

Magnus blew out a heavy breath with a tremulous smile. Alec’s smile softened as he leaned close and pressed his face into the crook of Magnus’s neck, breath fluttering against his collarbone, a steady presence that settled something deep in his bones.

Warm, sated, _wanted,_ Magnus rested easy.

(He definitely filed away the delight in his shadowhunter when he scooped Magnus into his arms for later.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2\. After a long and stressful day, Alec carries Magnus to the bathtub to pamper him
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the shortest chapter in this fic! This is set around season 3 but is kind of AU as I imagine Magnus staying High Warlock (and I'm not sure yet where the whole Asmodeus plot went, but Alec _did_ go to Edom to rescue Magnus)
> 
> Just softness and Malec dancing. I admittedly do not know how dance works, so -authorial hand wave- feelings

III.

“You’ve been practicing,” was the first thing Magnus said to him, smile blinding.

When Alec had approached him with the offer to dance, Magnus had initially been hesitant. He did indeed still shudder at the memory of Havana and their _last_ attempt at dancing. But Alec gave him that particular look he knew by now Magnus was utterly weak to, with pleading hazel eyes and even going so far as to pout at him. Playing him like a fiddle with the puppy eyes and looks that twisted in Magnus's chest with a physical twinge of protest. “I want to get better for you,” Alec had said softly, and well, how was Magnus supposed to deny him after _that?_

Alec, though, took to the dance effortlessly. At the very least, far more so than the last time they danced, fumbling over his steps and stammering more and more apologetically as he wound himself up further. (He always hated feeling insufficient, as though he were failing, and it was all the worse when it was something Magnus clearly wanted because Alec wanted more than anything to measure up for those he loved.)

Now he moved in time and step with Magnus. His steps were calculated: smooth and touched with the grace that let his arrows fly when he moved as though walking on air through the most dangerous of situations. This though, grinning with him in tandem and pressed close, might be the part that Magnus delighted in most. The warmth of Alec against would be a pleasure anyway, even if his toes might complain later in the day were he to trod all over them.

(Though that wasn’t yet to be a fear as Magnus hadn’t had Alec step on his toes yet in their dance.)

More than that, seeing Alec like this, delighted as he danced with Magnus when he’d clearly put work into being prepared for this- it’s more than touching. Enough so that as all of this has left him today, Magnus found himself breathless and in awe of the man across from him.

“Well, I wanted to impress you,” Alec confessed with ease. The words were enough to have Magnus's heart flutter. This man did things to him. Or rather, he _undid_ him, made Magnus spiral apart in the utter awe of seeing Alexander, genuine and open, in front of him, soft in his affections in a way he never could have foreseen before they were together.

Magnus laughed in delight, “Oh, darling, there’s no doubt you’re always capable of _that_.” The words, while light enough in delivery, were painfully true. There was no way in his mind that Alec could ever be anything but impressive, and even if he weren’t, Magnus didn’t believe he could give him up after all this.

Whatever angel or deity had gifted Alexander Lightwood to Magnus Bane would have to fight him tooth and nail for him if they wanted him back. And Magnus wouldn’t hesitate to use every ounce of his power as Prince of Hell to keep the shadowhunter at his side as long as possible.

Magnus lost himself in the dance, the feel of Alec’s hand on his, the motions as they circled each other.

“How am I doing so far?” Alec leaned close enough to murmur against the shell of Magnus's ear when he pulled him flush against him, and Magnus refused to shiver at that.

“I’m speechless,” he said breathlessly as they drew back and without hesitation, he spun Alec. Alec followed without faltering and Magnus grinned. “You’ve been working hard.”

There was no doubt he had been. It was a strange notion, imagining Alec sneaking out to dance lessons or roping _Jace_ into his practices. He’d worked for this, dedicated himself to doing this because he _knew_ it made Magnus happy. Even though it had clearly been something had Alec panicking at first, terrified of being inferior. Now though, with a glint in his eyes and joy echoing Magnus's own, he wore every bit of happiness Magnus wanted to find for him when he saw that dark-haired man cross towards him for the first time.

Even if the dance was awful, if Alec looked like this it would forever be a cherished experience. That was for certain.

However much Magnus loved dancing, he was startled to realize he _knew_ with unshakeable certainty that he’d always love Alexander more.

“Always for you,” Alec said, and it sounded like a promise.

It was peaceful, close to his boyfriend as they danced across the loft. Magnus had loved dance, spent centuries learning a variety of dances from cultures across the globe in times long passed. It was something he delighted in doing, something he couldn’t help but adore sharing with his partners.

Alec stumbled over his feet, and it was Magnus this time who caught and righted him with a huff of laughter. Alec’s cheeks tinged with a faint blush.

“Well, I suppose that’s not quite as impressive as you thought,” He teased, eyes alight with mischief. 

“Careful,” Alec said in warning.

Magnus, as ever, did the opposite of what he was told. “Sure you don’t need to return to your classes?” He asked with a smirk.

Some primal emotion flared in Alec’s gaze, the particular fire that always said Magnus was in for _something_. He couldn’t help the thrill of delight that sparked in him at that. Alec’s competitive streak was something Magnus always delighted in prodding, but before he could so much as take another breath Alec proceeded to spin the warlock in his arms and dip him low. Magnus blinked slowly and lazily up at him, frozen.

Then, before he could process what was happening, Alec had slipped his arm completely under Magnus's legs and the world dropped out from under him as he pulled Magnus fully into his arms. 

Alec lifted him to his chest with a grin that put Magnus's to shame. He was holding Magnus as though he weighed little to nothing. Heart ramming painfully in his chest, that strength sparked more than a little desire low in his chest Magnus fought painfully hard to ignore in favor of the utter disbelief at the sheer _audacity_ of the gesture.

“Alexander,” Magnus gasped out and tried to smack his hand against Alec’s chest, but his growing smile ruined the half-hearted attempt.

Alec spun them around once- with a delighted laugh that had Magnus dying because _Lillith that sound-_ before leaning down and kissing the life out of him.

...

> Alec had said once he was certain from the moment he kissed Magnus he was wrecked for anyone else. Magnus, well, Magnus knew that Alec kissed him like he was dying for it, burning with need for Magnus as though he were the start and end of the universe.
> 
> They’d never needed anything more than each other.

By the time Alec pulled back after claiming his mouth with a fire that left his head spinning, they were both gasping and Magnus felt dizzy under the force of it.

Angel, Magnus thought, he never really would let them take this man back.

“Don’t sass me,” Alec said simply, voice low and rough. Magnus tried not to laugh at the sheer oddity of the situation. A Lightwood kissing him so well he wanted to forget his own damn name for _sassing him_.

“If that’s the reward I get for it I may have to try it even more often,” Magnus grinned cheekily, still breathless. Even though he gave a loud groan at the words Alec didn’t hesitate to bend down to kiss him again, smiling through it all the while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3\. Malec are dancing and Magnus says something sassy and Alec picks him up and spins around before kissing him
> 
> Was I expecting this to become very thirsty when I sat down to write this? Absolutely not, and that sounds like a good summary of both of them


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon typical violence here! Magnus gets injured by a demon, so there are descriptions of blood a handful of times because of the injury and similarly descriptions of pain

IV.

Magic spiraled around Magnus, coiling red as he wove his hands in an intricate maneuver, banishing another demon beyond the gates of Edom. Power hummed beneath his skin, through his very _being_ as he took in the scene around him. He bit back a snarl, with a flick of his wrist sending a demon on Clary’s left twisting at an odd angle before it shuddered and went entirely still. Alec drew arrows back, letting them fly with a cool, deadly efficiency and barely pausing for breath before aiming for the next demon. Chaos raged around him, shadowhunters slicing through demons while Magnus used his remaining power to eliminate as many as possible.

The fight felt as though it had been going on for days.

Magnus wasn’t expecting the sudden call from his boyfriend to be an emergency alert to the High Warlock of Brooklyn, but there was little that could be done about it. Being called in to close the rift was not the only problem, as the sheer _magnitude_ of the demons that snuck out had the Institute overrun in panic.

He’d been beyond excited for how he was dressed up that evening, but it still worked in a pinch. Black spiderwebbed over his scarlet jacket, tracing in delicate patterns that paired perfectly with his dark shirt and the simple (arguably) hairstyle he’d gone with in the morning, simply spiking his hair instead of lining it with the glint of bright colors.

The majority of the demons were small, pesky things but the sheer quantity of them was the real pain to deal with.

Magnus lifted one of the demons off the ground, eyes flaring in warning as his power itched to be set free. The demon erupted into a flurry of sparks in a moment, another coiling around him poised to strike. The warlock spun away from and sent it shrieking back to the hell dimension it came from a mere moment later with a burst of power.

He wove through the demons with all the grace of a dancer, eyes reflecting the vibrant shade of his magic as he efficiently eliminated ranks of the demons around him. The others were busy weaving their way through their own fights: the sound of Izzy’s lashing whip had become familiar background noise as she effortlessly made her way through the fight.

Power crackled through the air, roaring in his ears. Pure magic energy rippled out, sweeping over the battlefield in a wave and drowned out any sound in a blinding instant. A series of shrieks went up in the air as every one of the demons left on the battlefield were reduced to nothing but ash in a matter of moments, obliterating its path but fluttering harmlessly over the Shadowhunters (and if any mundanes were to have lingered would have graced over their skin with no ill effects).

Eyes glowing something fearsome, Magnus snapped his gaze over to Alec. Alec, who was still gasping. The rest of the shadowhunters were watching Magnus in some astonishment he didn’t care to process now.

“Magnus!” Alec screamed, lurching a step forward and eyes wide in terror. Magnus sucked in a breath, wavering in his place as he struggled to formulate his thoughts. The demons were gone, dead.

And Magnus- Magnus was in the middle of it, more powerful than any of the beasts they’d been sent to kill.

He hissed at the dull sting from his side and dropped his hand towards his side. When he pulled his fingers back they were sticky with blood. Magnus cursed. Well, at least the red would go with his outfit.

“Magnus,” Alec was at his side before he could process it, out of breath. Face falling, the crestfallen, “You’re hurt,” seemed a stronger bite than his own injury.

Magnus pushed back his shoulders, trying to dust off his jacket with a hand and flashing a wide grin. One Alec would likely recognize as fake. “I’m fine.” His side throbbed at that, stubbornly indignant at the refusal to acknowledge it. He pushed his hand down a little harder, vision swimming traitorously. 

His wound pulsed, and Magnus knew with growing dread it had indeed been laced with demonic venom. Just what he needed on top of all this.

“Easy, love,” Alec murmured to him and Magnus's vision swam treacherously. He shook his head to try and send the scattering black dots from his vision.

“I’m fine,” he repeated, rattled off mechanically and he almost regretted the words the moment they fell from his lips. He wasn’t _allowed_ these things. He hadn’t needed help, he didn’t _need_ anyone to look after him. He was one of the most powerful warlocks in the world. Letting others look after him… it was a weakness, one he wasn’t allowed to open himself up to. Most especially when he was drained of power and hurt and bleeding, when someone may attempt to take advantage of the shadows of his sheer power. Hurt him, break him further. (That didn’t mean sometimes he didn’t crave for it, someone to indulge in such things, offer him silent comfort in his weaker moments, even if he was terrified for what it would mean.)

“You’re literally swaying on your feet, Magnus,” Alec’s eyes were searching, and Magnus could see the quiver in his shoulders that he thought meant Alec was resisting the urge to pull him closer. “Can you heal yourself?”

Magnus’s lips parted and he hesitated another moment before he slowly shook his head. Alec’s shoulders tensed, fingers fluttering before he tugged sharply against the strap of his quiver. “Magnus-” He could hear the panic layered under that, the fear. 

“I will be alright,” Magnus promised as he turned and stepped closer to cup Alec’s chin, letting his cat eyes flicker out as he dropped his glamour. Alec immediately softened, relaxing under it ever so slightly. Magnus huffed out a breath. “I can- slow, if not stop the bleeding.” 

What he didn’t say is he didn’t know how he would do it, if he’d collapse under the weight of that, be able to walk while fighting off the wound. (Poison would do that to a man.)

The power it had taken, fighting his way through demons, sealing a rift (however small), and proceeding to decimate all demons in their vicinity: that had his magic throbbing inside him, weak and flickering from the strain of utter exhaustion.

Alec gave him a careful look, twisting into something pleading before:

“Let me carry you.”

Magnus jerked back at that, a gasp punching out of his lungs as he jerked his injury. His fingers were sticky with blood as he sent the faintest wisps of his magic down, trying to offer a glimmer of relief.

“Alec,” he started in disbelief. The thought of that stirred something in him he wasn’t able to pick out beneath the surprise at the suggestion. It wouldn’t be the first time Alec had carried him, though the rest of the cases had been in the safety of the loft, Magnus's own _home._

Alec shook his head. “You’re exhausted. Magnus, you’ve literally been _stabbed._ ”

“Lightly,” Magnus couldn’t help but quip, and he saw the exasperated huff that Alec let out at that, brow furrowing further.

“Let me _help_ you.”

The pleading note in his voice, the ache to help, to _protect_ had Magnus cracking beneath it. He hesitated, eyes flitting to everything around them. The land was, well, devastated. Perhaps he had gotten a little overzealous. Cracks ran along the sidewalk, items strewn about and broken into pieces. He’d all but leveled the battlefield (that was, in fact, some innocuous street that would now be hell to clean up).

Alec leaned close, pressing their forehead together while Magnus fought painfully hard to keep himself steady.

Magnus Bane here was powerful. The High Warlock of Brooklyn, the son of a greater demon. He wasn’t sure how to make the transition from that power to Alexander’s boyfriend, to the gentle moments in the loft and fond touches. He yearned for it, but he didn’t know how to take that weight.

Maybe that was why he needed Alec to.

Alec pressed a kiss to his forehead, drawing him out of his thoughts and when he pulled back his smile was soft. “ _Hey._ Sometimes you can be looked after too,” he whispered in promise.

Magnus huffed. “I trust you, Alexander.”

Alec paused, and Magnus swallowed hard. “You shouldn’t aggravate it. Not if you’re careful. My magic should prevent that, as long as you don’t send us tumbling to the ground or anything.”

That was all it took before Alec nodded once. He knew, wordlessly, and Magnus ached with it. Alec wrapped an arm around him, smiling gently before he tucked his other arm beneath Magnus's legs and pulled him to his chest.

“I’ve got you,” Alec said.

Magnus was tense, shoulders drawn and ready. He took a shuddering breath and let his head fall back against Alec’s chest as he leaned into his boyfriend’s touch. The warmth of Alec against him was a steadying, bracing weight, and it was far easier to breathe with the gesture that has Magnus's heart swelling with an unreasonable amount of affection.

His vision went white for several moments as he focused his magic. The world buzzed dully, eyes slamming shut but he was steadied as he came back from the lulling silence to the warmth of Alec’s arms.

“Hi there,” he murmured softly, lips quirking silently.

When the warlock opened his eyes, he tried not to frown. Alec, eyes soft and so damn sincere, smile as adoring as ever, was nothing like Magnus thought he could expect to see. “You’re not…” he trailed off.

Alec hefted him in his arms. “Not what?” He prompted, and the damn bastard didn’t even have the decency to sound breathless. Had he had time to activate a stamina rune?

“Frightened?” His voice wavered, painfully small. 

Because that was the crux of it, the terror. Magnus had unleashed enough magic that he expected most anyone else would have run in fear, cowered away in horror. Power he never dared touch into most days because he would do anything not to rely on what _he_ gave.

At least, not in the eyes of those who could so easily shatter him, because for every ounce of power he held Magnus had always loved so much and so deeply that the very ones he protected were the ones who could most easily destroy him.

“Magnus,” Alec gave a little chuckle, leaning close enough to brush their noses together for half a moment because he knew that would make Magnus's heart fluttery and that dumb grin grow on his lips. “I’ve said it before. It’s beautiful. _You’re_ beautiful.”

Magnus blinked half up in shock at him, mouth sliding open. Alec’s smile was painfully soft.

“...and powerful enough I’m certain any demon with sense is going to know you’d level a city block if they come near me.”

Magnus huffed a laugh at that. “Well, I’m pretty sure that’s a good deterrent to avoid any further injuries in the field. I find it highly rude for a man to get out of date night by being stabbed. I’d prefer to keep you _entirely_ alive for as long as possible.”

If unleashing his power like that did result in Alec winding up injured less often, Magnus most definitely would not complain about it. He might even be grateful for the chance to release the power itching beneath his skin, roaring through his chest, the power that at times had terrified him with the sheer force of it.

Warmth brushed his ear as Alec leaned to press a kiss against his temple. “You’re incredible,” Alec breathed to him.

If anything, Magnus supposed it would be a hell of a sight like this. The Head of the Institute carrying a warlock in his arms to safety. A shadowhunter cradling a downworlder in his arms as though he were the most precious thing to be carried after he used enough magic he was depleted to a point of weakness.

A weakness Magnus had learned to care for by himself, to hold up through, to stagger to his feet and fight with everything he had.

Staring up at the way Alec’s hair stuck to his forehead, feeling the rise and fall of his chest, Magnus found he liked having the chance to be looked after.

Alec still managed to look the part of a regal shadowhunter, head held high and sunlight hitting him just right as he crossed the battlefield with Magnus in his arms.

“Alec,” Izzy stood taller at that, looking ready to deliver a report that Magnus’s pounding head really did not have time to process.

“Izzy,” he said, pausing half a step away from her. “Complete your mission reports when you make it back to the Institute. You are tasked with managing command for the next few hours while the rest of the Shadowhunters continue monitoring the city. Reach out to the Clave to figure out what the current plans for clean up are and inform them the threat has been neutralized. I’ll go over your reports and make any corrections after tonight.”

“You’re not coming?” Jace asked in disbelief across from them.

Alec’s lips quirked up ever so slightly, something he tried to stifle as much as possible. Magnus couldn’t help but be hopelessly endeared by that.

“I have my _boyfriend_ to get home,” Alec stressed the word with a glee that had said boyfriend’s heart fluttering. “We’ve been in the field for hours. The Clave can handle me submitting the reports in the morning. They likely would have taken time with the various accounts to be processed anyhow.”

Magnus felt knocked breathless at the words and barely managed a nod.

“If you’ve pestered us enough, I want to get Magnus back to the loft as soon as possible,” Alec said dryly, and Clary muffled a noise of amusement behind a cough. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

There was definitely something amused on both of the women’s faces at that, and something vaguely disbelieving on Jace’s.

Alec nodded to Izzy and carried Magnus out of sight, and every time he glanced down at the warlock something in his eyes grew ever fonder. 

(The loft, thankfully, was a short enough walk away that Magnus scarcely has to spend long being carried down the street. It’s almost regrettable how quickly the time flutters by, snapping out of reach in a way that momentarily leaves him feeling impossibly sadder.)

The warmth of Alec like this, holding to him, endlessly gentle in his touches wasn’t something Magnus had to miss in the next few hours.

Alec stayed there at his side, holding his hand the entire time Catarina looked him over and they exchanged little grins between her rampant scolding (which seemed only to exasperate one of his eldest friends further, but he did notice the little half-fond smile she tried to hide behind eye rolls). Date night that night turned out to be a late night holding each other’s hands with Alec’s head on his chest, painfully careful to prevent jarring anything, wrapped in blankets on the couch.

Magnus found he couldn’t complain.

...

> “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” Magnus asked one day without prompting.
> 
> Alec paused from the sink, brow furrowing and it was a moment before he met Magnus's eyes. They were intense in a way Magnus couldn’t quite put to name, and it was a breath before, “It can’t be half as much as I love you.”
> 
> Magnus couldn’t breathe enough to begin arguing, but he was more than eager to spend an entire night in bed proving Alec wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4\. Magnus is injured and insistent he's _fine_ , he doesn't need help Alexander, but Alec def carries him in his arms off the battlefield
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter of this fic BY FAR but I love it so much
> 
> I want to give a big thanks to [Em](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightBreeze/pseuds/MoonlightBreeze/works?fandom_id=6856609) for being so amazing, she listened to my screaming in her DM's and her support meant the world to me when I was working on this :D
> 
> Here we finally get to Immortal Husbands!! This is set post S3, so Malec are married and are still living in Magnus's loft. If you're worried about content for this chapter: Magnus is dealing with insecurities/some self-worth issues, especially when it comes to his immortality at first. Valentine is mentioned, along with Alec very briefly mentioning his canon-typical internalized homophobia when he was younger (it's only about one line)

V.

Magnus wasn’t sure when he first realized that he missed the presence of Alec in the loft whenever he wasn’t around. His loft changed with his whims, every now and again when he grew bored or needed something new. He’d held it for decades, and it had gone through a great many renditions to get where it was now. It was easier when you could bring new furniture to life from your mind and materialize it, sweep items to another side of the room with a flick of your wrist. Moving the loft from one location to another wasn’t all too uncommon either, though it took a more notable amount of power. 

Now, there were moments that despite years of quiet (besides the presence of clients), there was a familiar sensation that after a long day he _missed_ Alec. The presence of the tall shadowhunter in his loft. It felt empty and lacking without him there, or waiting on the promise of what was to come.

Then again, seeing how that was his _husband_ , the man he had chosen to _marry_ , it made sense for their home to feel odd without him there.

The door to the loft swung open, and Chairman darted under the sofa, eyes narrowing distrustfully as he braced himself for an intruder.

“Alexander!” He couldn’t muster the energy to feel sheepish at the way he lit up, shooting upright in his spot when hearing the sound of his husband in the doorway. He flicked a hand and his books promptly vanished, tucking back to their place in the library. Alec set his bow down in the doorway, and smiled with a fond, “Magnus,” before crossing over to Magnus's place on the couch.

Alec stared at him a moment, mouth half-sliding open with what could only be labeled _desire_ and Magnus preened. He was particularly proud of his outfit that day, which considering his fashion sense was saying something. Magnus wore a dark purple suit jacket and his shirt was mostly unbuttoned, putting his necklaces on display as they hung low down his chest. His nails were painted gold with the hints of the same color woven through his hair, and his eyes had just the faintest glimmer of gold flecked with silver around them.

Alec shook himself, wiggling back and forth in his spot the delightful way he rocked when he let himself stim in the safety of their home. Magnus couldn’t help the swell of fondness in him at that. “You look…” he trailed off, swallowing hard. Magnus’s breath caught in his throat, and he began twisting his wedding ring without realizing it. Alec finished in no small degree of awe, “ _Incredible_.”

Magnus smiled softly at that, putting a hand on Alec’s cheek and leaning up to kiss him. “Thank you, my love,” he said warmly, letting his glamour fall without hesitation. He was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath. It had become easier to let his glamour down without thinking about it when he and Alec were in the safety of their loft.

Alec started to say something, then cut himself off, expression twisting unpleasantly. 

“What’s wrong?” Magnus asked in a soft voice, drawing a thumb over his knee in comfort. Alec’s head snapped up in surprise. 

Magnus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I know you, Alexander. Something’s clearly bothering you. If you don’t want to talk about it, all you need to do is let me know and I’ll be happy to wait until you’re ready.”

“I just,” Alec blew out a breath, eyes dark and heavy. His hair tumbled down into his eyes, runes seemingly emphasized by the dark cloud about his head and aura of fear radiating off him. “I want to talk to you about something. I don’t want… I don’t want to hurt you. ...or make you hate me.”

The last words were low enough Magnus could barely make them out, quiet enough he wondered if Alec even realized he’d spoken them out loud.

“Alexander,” the name was sharp, Magnus looking affronted despite himself. “There’s nothing you could tell me that would make me hate you.” The warlock didn’t doubt it- he knew Alec well enough he could gather whatever Alec had to say wasn’t something that would be worthy of hating him over. Unless Alec became the next Valentine overnight, which was highly unlikely, there was little Alec could do that would actually make Magnus despise him.

(Magnus knew without a doubt the truth of the fact that he would always love that part of that boy he had been with once upon a time, no matter what Alec became.)

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time now. I just,” he bit his lip, gesturing vaguely. “Don’t know how to start talking about it.”

He blew out a breath. “Promise you won’t get upset with me?” His words lilted up uncertainly at the edges. “Let- let me make it through it.”

“I promise I’ll do my best,” Magnus said honestly. “I can’t promise I won’t get upset as I don’t know what it is we’re talking about, but- I trust you. And if this is important to you, then I’ll listen.”

Alec nodded jerkily.

“Okay,” he breathed out.

It was strange to see Alec like this, eyes flickering to the side as he shifted from foot to foot. He fidgeted restlessly, as though he couldn’t keep still or settle into his own skin. Alec had a power beneath his shoulders- one that had him glowing in command and a fearsome archer and warrior.

“It’s- the thing is, I’ve been looking into something for months. I didn’t know if it was even feasible or possible, in any sense of the word, and I had to know what my options were. I’ve talked with countless people, only ones I trusted of course, but I- I didn’t want to worry you until I was certain it was possible. I didn’t want to hurt you or make you upset, which I thought might be the case because you’ve lost so many people and I didn’t- I didn’t want to get your hopes up over something that could never happen.” 

He couldn’t help but still be more than a little lost in what this encounter was supposed to mean, clenching his jaw briefly as concern swelled in him. “Alec,” he leveled his tone as gently as he could, pausing for a moment as he searched for the words. “If you don’t mind me asking, what were you trying to find?”

Alec met his gaze head-on, something that startled the air out of his lungs when he spoke with practiced clarity.

“I want to become immortal.”

Magnus choked, heart slamming to a halt in his chest. Horror swelled like bile in his throat, threatening to suffocate him as he dragged in a shuddering breath.

_Oh._

“Alexander,” the name pulled out of his throat painfully, a ragged sound, and he shook his head hard.

He couldn’t do this.

Forever. Forever with Alec. 

_“Alexander.”_

It sounded pretty in theory, the thought of never growing old and having Alexander at his side for the entirety of Magnus's very long life. Waking up with his husband at his side every morning for centuries to come, to spend lifetimes falling infinitely more in love with Alexander every day. To never suffer the unimaginable agony of watching Alec grow old and die while Magnus lived on, unchanged on the surface, as he grieved a part of himself he had no idea how to live without.

But that’s what it was- a pretty idea. A dream. Something that sounded nice in theory.

It hurt. It ached deeply, something that stretched from his chest all throughout his body and left his eyes stinging.

Because there was no way Alec could want the gravity that came with that time, that weight. Magnus had given up his magic, his very _being_ for Alexander, and he’d be damned if he let Alec do the same thing in some futile hope of making Magnus happy.

“Alexander, I love you,” he finally managed to recollect his words. He shook his head, eyes burning as he squeezed his husband’s hand beneath his. “I love you so much. But I can’t let you do this.”

Magnus pressed his fingers to his temples, hard, taking a shuddering breath before he looked at his husband. It was hard to gauge his mood right now, but Magnus could see the set determination of his jaw, the pure affection he had for Magnus, and the way his hands were clenched in his lap.

Magnus dragged in a sharp breath. He tried to infuse every amount of emotion he could into his words, voice breaking as he went one. “I know- I know you want to do this for me. That you think it will make me happy, but Alec- I could never ask you to sacrifice that at the price of yourself. ...I would never ask you to sacrifice that at all.”

The words hurt, opened a cavern beneath his feet and cracked his chest open with the weight of them, bare and stripped and raw in acute agony for the world to see. It hurt, to deny it like that. Now that the words had spoken he couldn’t stop it, the flittering of a thousand traitorous thoughts, Alec, a hundred years down the line laughing with him at some new mundane invention. Alec at his side as they watched the world turn around them, heedless of time. It left his eyes burning as he blinked back the beginnings of what might be furious tears.

He couldn’t. He didn’t dare, not when he knew the weight that came with that, but that didn’t stop his heart from aching with want. For the pretty dream that could never be, a thousand lives Magnus would never be worthy of living.

“Magnus,” Alec spoke softly. “I want this.”

Magnus shook his head viciously. This was miles different than anything else they had talked about: miles from tasting a new food or trying a new activity, or agreeing to try something new in bed, or even choosing to _marry_ Magnus. This was talking about changing Alec’s lifespan, condemning himself to centuries of pain and watching the world turn on as he felt half-alive, a tentative part of it fading in the deafening silence of eternity.

He opened his mouth, ready to outline his points, how immortality could change a person, how he’d be sacrificing everything for Magnus, things Magnus could never ask of him, his parabatai, his sister, his _identity_. To explain in resounding certainty the gravity of what was being discussed.

Instead, his voice all but shuddered as his voice came out weak and aching.

He sucked in a shuddering breath and what spilled out next were the damn words he’d been trying to hold back, burning in his mind, since the conversation came up.

“You’ll hate me,” he twisted around to hide his face, spitting out desperately. “You’ll- you’ll hate me Alexander, and for every hell I’ve lived through that is something I won’t survive. Watching you grow to resent and despise everything I have put you through would destroy me. No one wants to be immortal, Alec. No one’s made that way. You can’t- you can’t love me forever, Alec, you won’t be able to handle me for that long and still want-”

“Magnus Bane,” Alec’s words were sharp and Magnus couldn’t stop his head from snapping up at that. “There is nothing you could do that would make me hate you. That should terrify me, but there is no one I have known as worthy of being so selflessly loved and adored as you.”

Magnus stared, breathless as Alec’s hands twisted restlessly in the air.

“You are _everything_ to me.”

Alec’s voice all but broke on the word, and his expression all but crumpled with it.

“You can’t,” Magnus shook his head against the furious tears welling up in his eyes. His breath was shaky. “You can’t mean that, Alexander. You’ve given up everything for your family, time and time again, and I would never ask you to choose between us. That isn’t fair. I can’t ask you this.”

Alec made a frustrated noise, hands darting up and down rapidly in the air before he tangled his fingers in his hair. It was several moments, wordless, as a silent war waged inside his head, one Magnus wasn’t privy to. As Alec went nonverbal, words dying on his tongue, and Magnus couldn’t help but feel a stab of guilt.

Finally, dragging in a heavy breath:

“Do you remember the first time I told you I love you?” Alec posed without hesitation, as though Magnus could ever forget the first time the words tumbled past Alec’s lips. 

How tightly they clung to each other, a desperate, gripping hug as though letting go would mean confirming they didn’t have each other. 

Alec gestured in exaggerated motions with one hand, breathing fast, and words tumbling ever faster. “I wasn’t lying when I said that terror? It was… something I’d never experienced before. It was gripping, and I couldn’t- I couldn’t think or focus or _breathe_ through it.”

“I was terrified something had happened to you,” Magnus confessed, words heavy on his tongue. There were so many emotions to cycle through- pure heart-stopping fear, suffocating sadness and grief, a desperate sense of elation, disbelief, adoration- all in a matter of moments. 

Everything whirling through him in a matter of moments and letting the world fade the moment he had Alec in his arms.

Alec shook his head, lips parting in disbelief.

“The thought of putting you through that? The pain of living without me? That’s- fuck, Magnus, that terrifies me.” 

Magnus started, clenching his jaw as he forced himself to inhale. He could feel the weight of the confession, and he ached with it. Because _of course_ Alec had grappled further, the weight of immortality between them, their mortality an ever-present part of their relationship.

Alec’s eyes grew distant. “I didn’t really know who I was before you. I… don’t know if I wanted to know me. I was a shadowhunter. Beyond that, gay, autistic, any of it- I… _couldn’t_ be that. So I worked and shut down and tried to keep everyone away from me to keep them from seeing anything I didn’t want them to. When I chose you- when I kissed you for the first time, that- that was really the first time I made a choice for _myself_ and after that, I didn’t want to stop. It was scary and terrifying and sometimes it still is, but… I want to _live_. I still don’t like clubs, they’re loud and bright and overwhelming. But I like watching you dance. And I like books and archery and cats and being with you. I like playing with Madzie and listening to you ramble about magical theory or watching you make potions.” Every wall Magnus had built up began to crumble away under the weight of Alec’s sheer conviction. The certainty that this, forever, with Magnus, was what he _wanted_. Magnus had never been able to deny Alec anything, let alone when he didn’t hesitate to storm forward and shift the whole damn planet on his axis to get it to do what he wanted.

“I’m happy with you, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop being happy with you. We don’t always agree and we fight and we struggle, but we make up and work through it.” His lips quirked up in a small smile. “Being with you- they told me I’d turn into a hedonist. Maybe they’re right, because I’m selfish enough now to know one lifetime with you is not enough.”

He let out a slow breath, before, silently, he dropped to the ground.

“Magnus Bane,” and here Alec was once more, the eldest of the Lightwood siblings (now Alec Bane), on his knees and looking up at Magnus the same way he had the day he offered Magnus the proposal he had planned and asked hesitantly if he could take Magnus's last name as his own. “I- I love you more than I know what to do with. I want to ask if you’ll spend the rest of your immortal life with me.”

Magnus felt his breath give a shuddering hitch. “Alexander-”

“I want to stay with you,” Alec looked up at him, hazel eyes wide and achingly certain. 

“I want to spend a thousand years at your side, spend lifetimes falling in love with you over and over at every little thing you do. If I had to, I would give anything and everything to stay at your side as long as possible. I want to see the world and know it’s all the better for having you in it, watch the world go on turning, and know I’ll always be able to return to your side. I know it’s a lot to ask. I know it’s going to be hard. Marriage is all about the work you put in, after all. But.” His lips curled into a smile there, taking his next breath. “I’d be willing to do that for the rest of time and that might be just enough to show you how loved you are.”

Magnus's lips parted, shaking his head in stunned disbelief. He choked, hands fluttering up toward his cheeks when he felt the first of the tears spill over. How the hell had he managed to capture this? A man who not only wanted to be married to Magnus Bane, but who would knowingly walk through Edom and redefine his existence to spend eternity with him? He wasn’t quite sure what he’d done to deserve this, but, fervently, he let Raziel and whatever other deities out there know they weren’t taking him back after this.

“I can’t,” Magnus clamped down hard to stifle whatever sob swelled inside his throat, burning painfully in his throat. “Fuck.”

Alec jolted, eyes snapping to his in alarm. Magnus shook his head once more, harshly.

_“Fuck.”_

Alec’s hand fluttered in the air, twisting uncertainly as he wavered, unaware of how he was supposed to respond or if he should reach out to comfort his husband. Magnus knew he was confusing him further, leaving him blind, but for the life of him he couldn’t gather a single thought to reply with.

Alec wanted this, wanted him, forever. And the stubborn nephilim had found it, found a way he could carve centuries of future for him and Magnus to share for as long as they wanted. _Nephilim only love once,_ Alec had told him before. Magnus was starting to think he could believe it.

“You impossible man,” Magnus whispered, voice trembling with barely repressed emotion. He shook his head, feeling tears scattering as he choked on his next breath with an achingly fond smile. “You wonderfully impossible man. How am I supposed to say no to that? Really, Alexander, when you’re talking about falling in love with me over and over again for _centuries_?” His voice broke. He had to suck in a sharp breath to force out the next words.

“When you’re the first person to love me as purely as you do? Who wants to spend my eternity with me?”

He tangled his fingers with Alec’s, shaking his head in disbelief once more.

“God, I love you,” it came out strangled in his throat, desperate. He dragged Alec up to kiss him, hard. He felt the startled breath Alec sucked in at that before he settled into the kiss, leaning in with the same fondness he bore in every kiss, no matter if it were heated or gentle or brief or lasting.

“Yes,” Magnus choked out when he pulled back, voice thick with tears. He couldn’t stop himself from agreeing again, not like this, staring at the face he would have at his side for lifetimes to come. “Yes, you beautiful idiot, I’d love to spend every century I can at your side.”

“I love you too,” Alec said as though it were the easiest confession in the world, a wide grin stretching his features that looked far too endearing on him.

Magnus shook. “...how?”

Alec blinked. “How do we plan to do this?” he asked hesitantly in clarification. At Magnus’s nod, he mumbled under his breath, “Right.”

Alec fumbled with his jacket before unfolding a paper with trembling fingers. He slid it across to his husband. Magnus picked it up, examining the loose drawing of a rune on the page. The lines were dark, and clearly well drawn. Two opposing sides faced each other, inked lines stretching across the center and connected by two loose swirls that almost formed a figure eight with two ends that didn’t quite touch at the opposite points.

“I’ve been looking for a long time,” Alec started without preamble. “The Institute’s records are limited, but I wanted to avoid any unwanted questions in case I couldn’t figure anything else out. Not until I knew it was more than a dream. Do you remember the alliance rune we used before? Clary saw that.” He nodded to the page. “It’s... a bit similar, but it should be permanent and, theoretically, allow us to share power as well as lifespan. Possibly also emotions, develop a permanent bond between us. Only, instead of just abilities, it will make us share blood.”

“What does that mean?” Magnus asked hesitantly.

“Clary and Izzy think we’ll become the same as one another,” Alec said softly. “But… you’ll be capable of carrying your own runes, and while we might overlap, I’ll develop my own magic. Not just yours.”

That sounded like no other magic he’d seen before, but at this point, he couldn’t bring himself to doubt Biscuit. Even looking at the rune for too long, he could feel the power radiating off it in waves.

“You’ll be a warlock,” Magnus said in consideration.

“I’ll still be a shadowhunter,” Alec let his hand scratch at the back of his head, running through his hair. “Catarina thinks that given your bloodline it’ll be easier for me to take than anyone else’s- if it would work at all for them. That and, something about residual magic? Your magic continuing to manifest in me from our… closeness.”

Magnus blinked, trying to sort through that all at once. “You spoke with Catarina? How many people were in on this?”

Alec hesitated. “Um… Simon, first and foremost. It wasn’t my most ideal option, but I considered becoming a vampire. If that was the only way I couldn’t leave, I’d take it. Clary, obviously, Catarina who roped Raphael into it, Ragnor, and Izzy for some background.”

“Why my bloodline?” He said after a beat, settling for the next question that had caught his interest.

“Asmodeus is your father,” Alec said with the practiced gentleness when it came to talking about something that pained Magnus to hear. “Which means not only does demon blood run through you, but fallen angel blood.”

Magnus stared at him a moment. “Well this is quite the undertaking,” he laughed wetly, shutting his eyes as he tipped his head back.

Hundreds of years of preparation, of loneliness, of loss, crashed down over his shoulders like a wave. It was enough to almost drown him, drop him in ice-cold water burning through his lungs and throat like fire. Alec wouldn’t leave. Alec was going to stay with him, forever, and never let him go. That was enough that it had Magnus reeling back in shock, hands clamped on his mouth and pressing impossibly tighter as his face stung with bitter tears.

Alec would _stay_.

It was enough to have his shoulders shuddering, him falling apart as he struggled for breath. Alec’s face twisted in concern, leaning closer as he murmured, “Magnus?” but Magnus was beyond words.

“You’ll stay,” he gasped out finally. “You’ll- stay, Alec- you-”

“Me,” he agreed, brushing his nose against Magnus's when he leaned in. “I’ll stay. Forever.”

And Magnus broke under the weight of that knowledge. Magnus pressed a shaking hand against his lips and tried to muffle his sobs. Alec wrapped his arms around him, pressing his lips to Magnus's hair as he murmured an endless stream of comforts. Alec clung to him as Magnus let himself shudder apart in his shadowhunter’s arms as he cried.

“I do so adore you, Magnus Bane, more than the universe can begin to comprehend. I’ve got you, my love, now and forever.” The words were amidst a string of sweet nothings, breathed reassurances and adorations with their foreheads pressed together.

Alec carried him back to their bed, covering every inch of his face in feather-light kisses that eventually had Magnus gasping for breath between high-pitched laughter as well as tears. And if, when they made it back to their room, Alec took him apart just as softly, just as gently, and they clung to each other through the night against the weight of the world, well, that was their business and just their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5\. After an emotional revelation Alec carries a crying Magnus to bed while covering his face in kisses (IMMORTAL HUSBANDS TIME)
> 
> So here's my own take on immortal husbands! It probably won't be the last because I'm _weak_ for this particular hc.
> 
> For anyone who wants more background on the rune: it's a permanent bonding rune, kind of similar to both the wedded union and parabatai rune in that sense. It can be applied to both downworlders and nephilim, but only Malec really use it. Instead of just sharing powers like the alliance rune (Alec utilizing Magnus's magic), it makes the wearers _like_ one another. Magnus gives Alec warlock blood and Alec gives Magnus nephilim blood, making them both. 
> 
> Meaning: Magnus is fully capable of bearing runes on his own and Alec gets magic because he's become essentially warlock with the rune, however he has his own unique magic so it has its own style and strength
> 
> They're not exactly like one another, because they're their own people with their own energy and magic and personality, but they _click_ and work together in a way that compliments each other well. 
> 
> Here's a rough doodle I made of said rune that kind of sparked this whole chapter (and a great many more ideas):  
> 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we come to the chapter where Alec gets carried... 
> 
> I really struggled with this chapter so I hope it turned out alright! Alec does have a bit of sensory overload at one point but Magnus helps pretty quickly

\+ I.

For several utterly heart-stopping moments after stepping through the portal, Magnus couldn’t find Alec on the battlefield. Tracking him through the bond was easier than warlock tracking (though he might have been loath to admit it at the start because his magic was easier for him to understand than this new magic, angelic and demonic, bound in a rune that connected them with one another).

Magnus had felt the stabs of raw, unbridled emotion sweeping through the bond. The panic and righteous rage, the thrill and adrenaline from the fight, the terror and anxiety that gripped Alec’s heart and the utter weariness clinging to his bones, the desperation fueling him as he tried to bite back the stronger emotions he didn’t know how to begin to deal with. He’d gotten Izzy’s panicked message, felt his own hands trembling in response to the emotions surging through Alexander, and summoned a portal as soon as he was able.

The battle was all but over. Scattered all across the rubble were collapsed Circle fanatics. They stood on the edge of a street in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere, rubble and stone scattering the room, and almost entirely empty save for two stragglers and the last of the escaped child warlocks who were being ushered through a portal.

Alec stood in the midst of the devastation, head high and shoulders drawn back with all the strength from years of archery. He seemed to be the last, or perhaps only, man standing on their side as the last of the warlocks disappeared. The phantom wisps of an ethereal bow, looking almost as though it were made out of light, was slung neatly over his shoulder. His eyes glowed a brilliant blue, the same precise shade as Magnus’s magic. 

His eyes were entirely blue, the white most humans would find surrounding the center of their eyes instead a pale cerulean, the iris the same gorgeous rippling blue of the flames that danced at Magnus’s hands when he summoned his magic. His pupil was a dark shade of blue, almost black, but just the slightest bit warmer. Markings darted from his eyes, wisps of what almost danced like flames reminiscent of the swirl of Magnus’s magic when it reached out towards him in an attempt to hold him with as much adoration as its holder.

Pure magical energy rolled off him in waves, singing a near imperceptible song that would be utterly undetectable to someone without magic. A low hum in the air that echoed with the emotion and power swelling within Alexander. Wreathed in green flames, eyes glowing with power, he looked every bit an avenging angel.

No matter how many times he saw him like this, surrounded by the brilliant green of his magic, eyes alight, Magnus would remember these moments forever. The raw, untempered delight, the brilliant swell of affection in his chest as he struggled to breathe through the longing he ever held towards his husband.

 _His_ Alexander.

Alec, magic swirling with the precise emerald green that danced his fingers, that fused so _perfectly_ when his and Magnus’s power connected, was a vision he’d never tire of seeing.

Magnus didn’t think anyone else would be able to notice the way Alec was trembling, faint tremors rolling along him as he kept his hands as steady as he could as he channeled his magic through him.

One of the remaining fighters moved lightning fast, tossing a blade that spiraled towards Alec with deadly efficiency. A flicker of green light sent it scattering off course before Alec raised his hand and the glowing energy around him lashed out in a blur of color and motion. The blast erupted over the battlefield with seismic force, sending the ground trembling beneath them and throwing the enemy several feet backwards before they landed hard against the pavement.

It was over.

“Alexander.”

The name seemed impossibly loud in the air between them. Alec looked up, eyes dimmed considerably by the exhaustion coursing through his veins, some of his marks faintly glowing and flickering with power.

“I’m here,” Magnus stepped forward, leveling the word softly and with care. Alec crumpled under the weight of it, shoulders dropping and swaying dazedly on his feet.

“Magnus,” the name was practically a gasp in the air before his knees gave out from under him.

Magnus caught Alec when he fell, at his side before the movement could be processed. Crouched against the pavement, he cradled Alec in his arms and pressed their foreheads together. Alec blinked hazily up at him, resting his head on Magnus’ shoulder, expression worn and tired but undeniably adoring for the man holding him. It seemed a fitting parallel to when Magnus fell back into Alec Lightwood’s arms in the loft what felt like lifetimes ago, gazing up at him in disbelief and murmuring in soft reply. Now, Magnus held Alec Bane as he fell back into the warlock’s arms and stared at him with the same thinly-veiled awe Magnus had worn staring up at the shadowhunter.

“Hi, love,” Magnus greeted fondly, thumbing away the streaked red at the corner of Alec’s mouth. “You know if you get a split lip, I have to deprive you of kissing me.”

As teasing as the words were, there was truth behind them. As long as kissing could potentially cause any further injury to him, Magnus wouldn’t hesitate to withhold kisses from his boyfriend. Maybe it would be threat enough to keep him out of unnecessary danger. (Notably, however, Alec being banned from kisses did not mean _Magnus_ couldn’t kiss him. At least, as long as it was anywhere but his lips. If possible, he’d always heal any injuries Alexander had because seeing his husband in pain was something he’d always avoid as fiercely as he was able. Being able to kiss Alec- well that was a delightfully added bonus.) 

Alec blinked at him another moment, huffing out.

“A true tragedy.”

His voice was ragged and worn, but Magnus felt his heart stop at it in pure relief nonetheless.

“Of course,” he teased back with a blinding smile. “I have eternity to kiss my husband now, and I don’t want to be deprived of a single moment.”

Alec smiled, something dazed and small, and leaned up to kiss Magnus sweetly. “I love you,” he whispered, eyes glowing blue. His fingers twisted in Magnus’s shirt, and his next words were weak and almost needy, “Let me see them?”

Magnus was intimately familiar with the request now, and dropped his glamour. Golden cat eyes stared back, reflecting in the answering blue of Alec’s mark. Magnus saw the immediate way Alec softened, trembling hand gingerly raising up to rub his thumb against the scruff of Magnus’s stubble.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured. “They’re beautiful.”

Magnus felt an overwhelming swell of affection in his own chest, clenching his jaw tightly before he got enough control over himself to breathe back, “So are you, my pretty boy.”

He could feel the answering shudder that went down Alec’s back at that, the widening of his own pupils as his lips parted slightly. Magnus couldn’t stop the cheeky grin he flashed at that.

“You’ll always like that, won’t you?” He jibed with no real heat behind it. He delighted in it, loved calling Alec it as much as Alec loved hearing it, and he didn’t think he’d ever tire of reminding his husband just how pretty he was. (Alec went far too long without believing it, and Magnus had eternity to remind and convince him the whispering voices in his mind were _wrong_.)

“Shut up,” Alec grumbled, dropping his head into Magnus’s chest. Magnus thumbed silently over Alec’s shoulder, sending soothing waves of magic through him as he hummed thoughtfully.

“Tired, my love?” He asked gently.

Alec winced, as though the words, the weight of them, every breath was pinching on him.

“It’s too loud,” Alec whispered, voice breaking. “S’too much Magnus, I can’t, I _can’t-_ ” He had begun panting with the last words, hands clenching tighter and shaking with them.

“Easy, _easy_ , love,” Magnus used the exact volume he’d spent years perfecting, an art, in finding exactly Alec needed in moments like these. “Do you want me to make it quiet for you?”

Alec’s gaze flickered, twitching side to side in a motion Magnus knew meant he was trying to track the countless sounds he was processing at once. Whatever he was hearing, whether it be from movements others were making, the rustling of the wind or materials or rocks beneath someone’s feet, the breathing and the whistling wind and whatever murmurs he could pick out. A ragged noise caught in his throat, face swimming with a myriad of emotions and blue eyes as panicked as the rest of him.

“I’ll keep you safe, Alexander,” he swore, cat eyes solemn in their promise. “Always.”

Alec looked up, and while Magnus knew he wasn’t quite meeting his eyes, truly, he never found it in himself to care. Never would. Alec nodded, a minuscule movement but a defining one. Blue magic lit up, swirling around Magnus’s hands and seeking Alec out like it too was desperate for him. He watched the immediate tension that dropped from Alec’s shoulders as he dropped his head to Magnus’s chest, pure relief lighting his features as the noise dulled around him and settled like a warm blanket of comfort around his shoulders.

“I’ve got you. Now and forever.”

Magnus ran his fingers through Alec’s hair and watched the way his eyes fluttered at that, leaning into the touch with all the hunger he usually restrained warring his expressions. Sometimes it struck Magnus how little the shadowhunters in his life had been allowed the softer touches and adorations. In moments like those, he wanted nothing more than to pin Alec in bed and shower him in as many kisses and affections he could possibly have to offer.

They stayed like that for fleeting minutes, what had to be less than three, Magnus gently combing through his love’s hair as Alec sank into it. Magnus would make himself a shield, a buffer against the world, as long as it was needed.

Alec sighed, the breath fluttering against Magnus’s chest and his hand twitched tiredly. “... ’m sorry.”

Magnus sighed at that. He wouldn’t criticize him, or tell him not to apologize, for that got them nowhere. The sigh was a worn sound, one he was relieved Alec didn’t know how to read, born of resignation and weary fury at those who had taught his shadowhunter over and over he had to apologize for his hurts, for inconveniencing others. 

“You have nothing to apologize for, Alexander,” he paired the words with three sweet kisses into the messy tumble of his dark hair. “You’re not responsible for this. Please don’t blame yourself.”

Alec made a short, weak sound against Magnus he hoped he could take as assent. There was a beat of silence, with Alec fiddling with the jewelry he could get his restless fingers on and Magnus holding his husband close to him.

The next words that slip from between cracked lips fit everything into sharp clarity. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

Magnus’s breath hitched. He twisted his face closer to Alec’s, glamour dropping as he tries to stress the gravity of his next statement. “Darling, _sayang_ ,” Magnus paused and Alec watched him, clearly worn but remaining conscious throughout it. “You were incredible. Being able to see magic living in you, it’s- it’s something I never dreamed was possible that I’m amazed by at every turn. Your power… _our_ power, it’s something gorgeous to behold. What you did tonight kept so many safe and showed just how much you are capable of after such a short time. And as much as I may worry for you, I will always be proud of you for everything you achieve. I am proud of you. But now it’s just my turn to pick you up and keep you safe after it all.”

“Magnus,” his voice was raw and at that point, Magnus leaned down to bury his face into his husband’s neck. He could feel the weakness, the exhaustion radiating off him in waves, even without the bond. Alec was trembling faintly, and Magnus let a sliver of his own power loose. Enough power that a jolt of energy and calm would sweep his husband without him being too aware.

Then again, with the state he was in, it would be a surprise if he noticed much.

“I’ve got you,” Magnus told him with a smile. “I will catch you when you fall, remember?”

Alec huffed ever so faintly, and Magnus smiled.

The eldest Lightwood took in a shuddery breath, trembling something vicious in Magnus’ arms. “I-” He cut himself off. He lifted his head to face Magnus, confessing, “I don’t think I can walk by myself.”

Magnus rocked back, holding Alec tightly and swaying with him before letting out a hard breath. “I’ve got you, my love.” _Forever._ That still sent a thrill through him, the promise of eternity- centuries with Alexander, morning kisses and shared ‘I love you’s and a ring on his finger he can see matched on his husband at every turn. Eternity to watch Alec flourish with his magic and see his eyes light up in delight the way they always did when he learned something new and seeing the sheer power rippling beneath Alec’s shoulders as he demanded control of a room.

Magnus shifted his stance, steadying himself as he pulled Alec’s legs under his arm.

While Magnus may have delighted in the fact that Alec was taller than him, markedly the perfect size to envelop him in a hug or lean in _just so_ to gift him with a kiss, Magnus was not a small man. He’d spent years of his life working in a variety of martial arts and fitness regimens, and he was a fantastic dancer. He’d watched the way Alec’s gaze lingered on him when he practiced Tai Chi, seamlessly defeating shadowhunters in the training room from centuries of combat techniques. That did not come easy.

In any case, Magnus did not have too much trouble lifting his husband in his arms and carrying him bridal style, letting one arm wrap around his shoulder as he stood up. Judging by the look his husband gave him, Alec found that impressive enough (and possibly a turn-on). It was no chore to carry his husband and return a great many favors he wanted to continue to do so for years. Marriage was about reciprocation and compromise.

“I’m taller,” there was a tired pout in his voice, and Magnus laughed. His eyes had the cutest wrinkle at the edges with his smile as he shifted Alec in his grip, stopping long enough to brush his nose with Alec’s in an echo of a not-too-long ago gesture.

“Mm, but I do recall besting you more than once in the training room,” he teased back, lowering his voice an octave. “Something the matter, my love?”

“Just… hold me for a minute? Please?” Alec’s voice broke before he jerked his head away, clearly embarrassed by the simple request. The sheer idea of asking for comfort.

“I’ll hold you as long as you desire, my darling,” Magnus spoke in a gentler tone. “Whatever you wish.”

...

“We can move now,” Alec told him quietly after settling into the new position for half a minute. Magnus nodded with an answering smile.

“Alright, my Alexander,” Magnus mused as he began walking. “You really should eat more, you know. You’re far too light for me to have any trouble carrying.”

“If that’s the case I know you’re going to start feeding me more,” Alec huffed as though he were put out, but Magnus could see the flicker of excited magic at the corners of Alec’s fingers that acted up when he wanted to flap his hands.

“Five-star meals, what a tragedy,” he said, overly dramatic and hardly masking his own smile.

“I don’t like worrying you,” Alec told him in a small voice as he played with the rings he could reach with his free hand. “It- it’s hard to see you upset. I don’t know how I’m supposed to make it better and I'm not always… good, at reading people.”

Magnus felt a swell of affection for the man in his arms and he had to force himself to swallow hard. “You’re perfect, sayang,” he said softly, quickly amending before he could see the way Alec’s brow furrowed in confusion. “For me. You always do what you can to make me feel better, and it helps. _Aku cinta kamu._ ”

Magnus waved his hands, watching the portal swirl open with flashes of blue and green, the iridescence when their magic crossed paths that sent something pleasant singing through the bond, just as he heard the response. Alec tipped his chin up and echoed the words, letting them fall a touch more clumsily from his lips than Magnus’s own pronunciation before he tacked on in a whisper, “ _Te amo, mi amor._ ”

Magnus tried not to jerk to a stop at that. He did, mere inches away from crossing the portal.

“Home, my love,” he whispered with trembling, aching fondness. “I’ve got you.”

Wordlessly, standing tall he strode forwards with all the regality of a prince befitting his title as he strode through the open portal and watched the world fade to the entry of their loft. (If getting to carry Alec all the way back to bed was a bit of showing off, well, he deserved it after having Alec carry him all those times through the years.)

When Magnus set Alec back on the pillows, his smile was impossibly soft and cat eyes round in his glee. “I’ve got you, sayang. Forever and always.”

Alec huffed some tired laugh, head tipping back and fingers fluttering just ever so slightly at his side as he squirmed into some more comfortable position in bed.

Magnus flopped down on top of him, catching himself so he dropped none of his actual weight on Alec. Beaming goofily down at his husband from the almost push-up position he’d caught himself in, he found himself delighting in the startled pitch of laughter the gesture drew out of Alec. 

“Magnus,” he gasped out, nose crinkling and blue eyes softened in joy. Magnus pressed their foreheads together before capturing Alec’s lips in a kiss. It was warm, and gentle, and poured every ounce of comfort swelling between them in a single gesture.

“Thank you,” Alec whispered into the space between their lips when Magnus pulled back with half-lidded golden eyes. “For loving me like you do.”

Magnus swallowed hard, resting his head on Alec’s chest and letting the weight soothe him. “Thank you for teaching me I deserve to be loved.”

Alec smiled, hands flapping carefully to one side to avoid swatting Magnus, who could all but feel the warm glow emanating from them. “Thank you for teaching me the same,” he whispered, and there was nothing else that needed to be said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm usually not super sold on the idea of blue-eyed Alec because I _love_ Matt's hazel eyes so much, but I also really loved the idea of BLUE eyes with the sclera and all the different bits being different shades, but distinctly one color
> 
> Also Alec with glowing eyes is a wonderful image to me gashkdj;
> 
> Thank you so much for reading so far! I've loved writing and sharing this story so much. I'm so blown away by how this fic turned out and the response I've been given. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed, or given comments and kudos. It means the world to me!
> 
> Come yell at me on [tumblr](https://eternallysilvermagnusandalec.tumblr.com/) if you're so inclined
> 
> I send hugs to everyone who wants or would accept one <3


End file.
